News

By Ellis Verdi, president of the NYC advertising agency DeVito/Verdi

Here are the five lessons I learned from the J.C. Penney debacle — unfortunately we knew all of this before Ron took his ideas to market.

FORT WORTH, Texas — Pier 1 Imports reported net income of $61.7 million, or 58 cents per share, for its fourth quarter. For the fourth quarter ended Feb. 25, 2012, the company reported net income of $115.2 million, or $1.04 per share.

ISSAQUAH, Wash. — Costco Wholesale Corporation  reported net sales of $9.67 billion for the month of March, the five weeks ended April 7, 2013, an increase of 7% from $9.07 billion during the similar period last year.

For the thirty-one weeks ended April 7, 2013, the company reported net sales of $61.02 billion, an increase of 8% from $56.34 billion during the similar period last year.

Total comparable-store sales for the month, excluding fuel were up 6%. For the thirty-one week period, they were up 5%.

AUSTIN, Texas — Digital coupon site, RetailMeNot.com, is launching an updated version of its free RetailMeNot Coupons app for iPhone that includes the ability for consumers to search for and find digital coupons for nearby retailers located in 500 shopping malls. The app also enables users to request that additional shopping areas be geo-fenced by RetailMeNot.

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama has proposed increasing federal taxes on cigarettes, drawing criticism from tobacco companies and praise from anti-smoking groups.

As part of his proposed budget, Obama proposed raising the tax on cigarettes by 94 cents per pack, with similar increases on other tobacco products. The current tax is $1.01 per pack.

LOS ANGELES — The Entertainment Industry Foundation is sponsoring the Revlon Run/Walk for Women for the 20th year in a row, the group said Tuesday.

Emma Stone and Olivia Wilde will act as Revlon brand ambassadors and hosts for the New York event, which takes place on May 4, while Halle Berry will do the same for the Los Angeles event, on May 11, along with Entertainment Tonight correspondent Brooke Anderson and Dancing with the Stars host Carrie Ann Inaba.

ROUND ROCK, Texas — Dell OEM Solutions announced that it has worked with Microsoft Corp. to become a global distributor, outsource manufacturer and integrator for Windows Embedded products.

The agreement, which went into effect on April 1, enables Dell to provide Windows Embedded product licenses (COAs) with Dell product solutions. This means it is easier for Dell OEM Solutions customers to bring their products and solutions to market through:

• Shorter lead times with in-stock COAs

NEW YORK — Duane Reade has launched its first mobile application for iOS devices. The free app, available in the iTunes store, will facilitate and further enhance customer access to Duane Reade’s pharmacy services, photo printers, prescription refills, Balance Rewards offers, account information and in-store maps.  

SAN FRANCISCO — Alliance Data Retail Services recently collaborated with Locaid, the world's largest LaaS (Location-as-a-Service) company, to run an opt-in geofence pilot program between Black Friday and New Year's Eve in 2012.

CAMP HILL, Pa. — Rite Aid's profits grew in fourth quarter and fiscal year 2013 amid stronger front-end sales and prescription count, the retail pharmacy chain said Thursday.